Winter virus closes Scottish hospitals

A monitoring programme is to be accelerated at Scottish hospitals to check if they are meeting new national standards on infection control. It follows the deaths of three patients at Glasgow's Victoria Infirmary from salmonella poisoning and an outbreak of a gastric virus at several other hospitals.

The viral infection, which causes severe vomiting and fever, has affected many parts of Britain, but Scotland has been worst hit. Almost 300 patients and staff at the Victoria Infirmary contracted the virus, and the hospital was forced to close …